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Special Offers

Circular Aperture

When changing your aperture to defocus the background, the light sources appear blurred. This ‘bokeh’ effect of the blurred background can be enhanced with circular aperture blades used in this lens. Conventional aperture blades have flat sides creating unappealing polygonal shaped defocussed points of light. α lenses overcome this problem through a unique design that keeps the aperture almost perfectly circular from its wide-open setting to when it is closed by 2 stops. Smoother, more natural defocusing can be obtained as a result.

Carl Zeiss T* (T-star) coating

Coated optics were pioneered by Carl Zeiss® - and this superb lens features the Carl Zeiss T* (T-Star) coating that virtually eliminates lens flare, internal reflection and light scattering that can otherwise occur at glass-to-air surfaces. The T* coating contributes to outstanding image quality, with high contrast and uniformly excellent resolution right out to the image edges. Not simply applied to any lens - the T* symbol only appears on multi-element lenses in which the required performance has been achieved throughout the entire optical path, therefore guaranteeing the highest quality.

Focus hold button

Once you’ve adjusted focus to where you want it, pressing this button on the lens barrel will keep the lens locked to that focusing distance. The preview function can also be assigned to this button through the camera’s custom settings.

Distance encoder

The distance encoder plays an integral part in ADI flash metering, which delivers high precision flash metering that is unaffected by the reflectance of subjects or backgrounds. The distance encoder is a lens component that directly detects the position of the focusing mechanism, and sends a signal to the CPU in order to measure distance to the subject. During flash photography, this data is very useful in calculating how much flash output is appropriate to the scene.

Features

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Circular Aperture

When changing your aperture to defocus the background, the light sources appear blurred. This ‘bokeh’ effect of the blurred background can be enhanced with circular aperture blades used in this lens. Conventional aperture blades have flat sides creating unappealing polygonal shaped defocussed points of light. α lenses overcome this problem through a unique design that keeps the aperture almost perfectly circular from its wide-open setting to when it is closed by 2 stops. Smoother, more natural defocusing can be obtained as a result.

:

Carl Zeiss T* (T-star) coating

Coated optics were pioneered by Carl Zeiss® -- and this superb lens features the Carl Zeiss T* (T-Star) coating that virtually eliminates lens flare, internal reflection and light scattering that can otherwise occur at glass-to-air surfaces. The T* coating contributes to outstanding image quality, with high contrast and uniformly excellent resolution right out to the image edges. Not simply applied to any lens -- the T* symbol only appears on multi-element lenses in which the required performance has been achieved throughout the entire optical path, therefore guaranteeing the highest quality.

:

Focus hold button

Once you’ve adjusted focus to where you want it, pressing this button on the lens barrel will keep the lens locked to that focusing distance. The preview function can also be assigned to this button through the camera’s custom settings.

:

Distance encoder

The distance encoder plays an integral part in ADI flash metering, which delivers high precision flash metering that is unaffected by the reflectance of subjects or backgrounds. The distance encoder is a lens component that directly detects the position of the focusing mechanism, and sends a signal to the CPU in order to measure distance to the subject. During flash photography, this data is very useful in calculating how much flash output is appropriate to the scene.

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Auto Clutch

In auto-focus mode, the manual focus ring does not rotate -- and in manual focusing, you’ll have a solid, hands-on feel.

Weights and Measurements

Dimensions (Approx.) : 3 1/4 x 3” (81 x 75mm)

Weight (Approx.) : 1 lb 7 oz (650g)

Rated 4.9 out of 5 by 11
reviewers.

Rated 5 out of 5 by ElGueroMasLoco Magic Wand
I picked up this lens at the Sony store in Bangkok figuring it would be great to have for the rest of my trip and boy was I right. I'm still a relative beginner so I won't pretend to know what makes this lens great, but it is simply awesome. For me to have this power in my hands feels incredible. It's like a magic wand that makes everything look beautiful (and like I said, I'm a beginner). Portraits pop out heroically with soothing bokeh and great clarity. It focuses fast and feels solid. When using it outdoors, I found that in aperture-priority mode, opening it up to 1.4 sometimes maxes out my a55's shutter speed of 1/4000, so I'd recommend a filter to give more flexibility. One thing to consider is the focal length of 85mm translates to about 130mm with the APS-C sensor, so if you're like me, you'll have to adjust a little bit to position yourself properly for the shot. For that reason, it might not be the best lens for enclosed areas.
September 27, 2011

Rated 5 out of 5 by Chuckie12 I waited to long to buy this lens
This has quickly become my primary lens for use on the 900. The clarity of the images is more then I expected. Even in low light the brightness of the image makes is very easy to manual focus. The ability to control DOF makes the lens flexible for still life as well as portraits. Well worth the money.
February 18, 2011

Rated 5 out of 5 by psstudio If You Only Have One Lens This Is It.
A brilliant lens for portraits, low light and midrange telephoto shooting. This beautiful piece of glass is perfect for intimate or low-light portraits, fashion shots and quick candid photographs.
October 24, 2011

Rated 5 out of 5 by Bobbyfingers AMAZING SHARPNESS!
This lens is amazing. Extremely sharp and no ghosting the bokeh makes images pop causing sort of a 3D effect. After buying this lens I can't seem to take it off my camera (sony a99) in fact,I plan to buy all the prime Carl Zeiss lenses available. I wish they had a longer line of Carl Zeiss lenses available for the alpha full frame models.
March 22, 2015

Rated 5 out of 5 by BuffaloJohn Amazing Lens. Period.
I've owned this lens for about a week. I moved to the Sony A900 from my Canon 5D Mark II because of the Zeiss line in particular - best build of all lenses made for modern DSLRs in my opinion. I've owned the Carl Zeiss 18mm ZE for Canon, and the nice change is AF vs. the MF lenses made for other mounts. However, considering the comparable speeds of Canon 85mm f/1.4 and f/1.2, ALL the Zeiss lenses made for Sony are slow seekers from 0-infinitey focus. Its fast "enough" for most cases, considering its a shorter lens than lets say the Sony 70-200 G f/2.8 for sports. This is an absolutely tack-sharp lens - and that's not just me saying that. I compare RAW images out of the camera (which are a certain percentage softer than JPEG in-camera images) to my Zeiss 18mm stopped to f/8 and I honestly can say at f/1.8 to f/8 this lens out performs the other Zeiss glass by NOTICEABLE margins. It seems 20% sharper at 100% center focus comparisons. The CA is minor enough, you just don't care unless you are pixel counter in digital. The color is just AMAZING at f/1.4. I was out doing some night photography wide open, and simply wow'ed at how much a) light I was getting (it was like being in high-noon at times with the amount of light I was getting) and the reflections off the ice around some buildings I was shooting was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! The lens is pricey but if you shoot street photography or portraits don't hesitate to pay the Sony tax on this lens in particular. If you use a 1.4 or 2.0x extender you get 170mm on a full-frame A900 or A850 and only drop to f/2.8. So the speed + wide-open f-stop gives you options for shooting even LONGER and getting very a acceptable f/2.8 out of a 170mm lens. Just a thought.
I will keep this lens for probably as long as I'm alive.
February 16, 2011

Rated 5 out of 5 by txphotogryl MY FAVORITE LENS!!!!
I have been shooting with Sony dslr's since 2006. I already had three other lenses; standard zoom, fish eye and 300mm telephoto. I shoot primarily with a shallow depth of field sko when I shoot portraits I was using the 300mm. The problem is in studio you can't get far enough away without chopping of some part of the body. I researched lenses on Sony Style and found this lens, ordered it, used it and I'm loving it! By far the best lens out of all four of mine now. It is a great deal heavier than my other lenses and more costly, but it's worth every penny if you're a pro photog or an avid amatuer.
February 11, 2010

Rated 4 out of 5 by Muzics Great addition
The capabilities of this lens are far reaching for portraits and candid shots, as well as still life. Its build quality is solid and rugged and it produces great images as well. However it does hunt for focus a little more than one could care for and the AF seems a bit slow, which can cause you to miss a shot. Once focus is locked on you can expect a great image every time as it will prove to be a great asset to your lense arsenal.
November 11, 2008

Rated 5 out of 5 by jadeeast69 Exceptional Lens
I purchased this lens a few months ago, needing a portrate lens, mid-range telephoto, to capture close up candid photos for my work. This lens has way exceeded my expectations, and the clarity of images is the very best... To be able to take close up shots at a distance of 8 to 16 feet is excellently produced by this lens. This is one of two Carl Ziess lenses I use, but it is on my camera at least 50% of the time... Wonderful companion to the Carl Zeiss 24-70 lens.
January 10, 2012